CM Siddaramaiah urges Centre to ensure fair fund allocation to K'taka under 16th Finance Commission
Raichur (Karnataka), Jun 23 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday urged the central government to ensure fair allocation of funds to the State under the 16th Finance Commission, claiming that it has suffered a loss of around Rs 80,000 crore in allocations compared to the 14th Finance Commission.
Addressing the media here, he criticised BJP MPs from Karnataka, alleging that "not a single saffron party MP has raised their voice on this serious injustice to the state."
Siddaramaiah alleged that despite being an influential minister close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has failed to secure the release of Rs 11,495 crore recommended as a special grant to Karnataka by the Finance Commission.
"He has no moral right to talk about Karnataka’s interests when this rightful grant is yet to be released," he claimed.
Siddaramaiah reiterated the state’s demand for a special grant from the Centre for the development of the Kalyana Karnataka region.
Karnataka already allocates Rs 5,000 crore annually for the region’s growth, and it is only fair that the union government also contributes, he said.
He added that his government will also examine the proposal to create a dedicated Ministry for Kalyana Karnataka to further strengthen development efforts.
Reacting to Minister H K Patil’s letter on illegal mining, Siddaramaiah acknowledged the recommendation to establish a special court to expedite investigations and recover dues from illegal mining cases.
He recalled that the Santosh Hegde Lokayukta report on illegal mining remains inadequately addressed and referred to his role in raising the issue in the Assembly, including participation in the Bellary padayatra against illegal mining in the past.
Regarding the concerns raised by Congress MLA Raju Kage about the lack of development activities in his Kagwad constituency, the CM assured that he would hold discussions with the MLA and that special grants would be prioritised for constituencies in need.
On MLA Belur Gopalakrishna’s reported statement regarding alleged corruption in housing schemes for the poor, Siddaramaiah said he would gather further details and informed that MLA B R Patil is scheduled to meet him on June 25 to discuss issues related to the Housing Department.
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Rupee slips 1 paisa to 90.67 against US dollar in early session
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee slipped by 1 paisa to 90.67 against the US dollar in the early session on Monday amid FII outflows and a stronger greenback.
A marginal rise in global crude oil prices and a sharp decline in the country's forex reserves also weighed on the local unit, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened higher at 90.63 before falling to 90.67 against the US dollar, down 1 paisa from its previous close.
The rupee consolidated in a narrow range and settled 5 paise lower at 90.66 against the US dollar on Friday.
"The rupee opened slightly stronger from Friday close and should remain in a small range on a day when cash demand will be lower due to US Presidential Day holiday," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
Markets will watch out for India's trade balance figures, which could be released by the commerce ministry on Monday, he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent higher at 96.93.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at USD 67.78 per barrel in futures trade.
At the domestic equity markets, Sensex declined 71.53 points to 82,555.23 in early trade while Nifty was down 11.95 points to 25,459.15.
On Friday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 7,395.41 crore, according to exchange data.
Reserve Bank data released on Friday showed India's forex reserves were down USD 6.711 billion to USD 717.064 billion during the week ended February 6. In the previous reporting week, the kitty had jumped by USD 14.361 billion to an all-time high of USD 723.774 billion.
